Thursday, May 22, 2014

When we use “wish”, the grammar is identical to the
“2nd conditional”: we need to use the past simple form of the verb. Both are
called “present unreal conditionals”. We use it for imagined situations.

* To express a
regret in the past using “wish” we use the past perfect tense.

1.I wish I
had an iPhone. Then again,
if I had one, I probably wouldn’t even use 10% of its
features. (This example was written over a year ago, and I do use more than 10% of my iPhone's features :-) ... You see, dreams do come true!)

2.Don’t you wish
that everyone in the world could
just get along? Do human
beings have it in them?

3.I wish
the city hall in Fortaleza would
build a world-class zoo. Every now and
then I want to see a real lion.

4.The most popular thing to write on a postcard is: “Wish you were here”. Do you think people are being sincere when they
write that, or are they bragging
about their exotic destination?

5.Example created over a year ago:Recently (November 19th) Barack Obama
gave a speech in Burma and said the following: “As president I cannot just impose my will on the congress of the United
States, even though sometimesI
wish I could.” Is this
is a political gaffe? At the very least, his opposition will take it out of
context and make a mountain out of a
molehill (make a big deal out of something small/ exaggerate).

6.I wish
there were more than 24 hours
in a day. What would you do
with the extra time if there were 26?

7.Do you wish
you were younger or older,
taller or shorter or that you had
different color eyes or darker or lighter skin? There are many people who wish they had some of your features.

8.* I’m sure
that many celebrities are now wishing
that they hadn’t gotten botox
injections or had plastic
surgery done.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

1. Most guys like tinkering with
applications on their cell phones. It's nice to figure out how something works and how you can use it. What apps do
you like tinkering with?

2. I like tinkering with task management
applications to see what features they have and how I can adapt them to my
organizational needs. I find it mentally stimulating to "play around"
with productivity applications. Here is a blog post I wrote this year on the
Gneo Blog: http://bit.ly/1nOfncD

3. Usually, tinkering with something is a
process of trying to find the most efficient way to use something or
familiarize yourself with it. You can change and adjust something until you
feel it is almost perfect. When you get a new computer or device, do you like
to tinker
around with it until you feel comfortable, or do you just use it for
the most basic things?

4. Some people like to tinker with old cars and
restore them. They will spend hour upon hour working on the engine, the
paintwork and absolutely every little detail imaginable.

5. A tinker was originally a tinsmith (someone who works
with tin), who mended (fixed) household utensils. Often people find it
satisfying to work with their hands and tinker around fixing things. Is
there anything that you like fixing?

6. If someone enjoys computer programming, you
can say that they love tinkering around with code. I like tinkering
around with a blog template until I have it exactly the way I want it.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The mood of a person is the state of mind they
are in at any given time. It might depend on their emotions or feelings. The
mood of a place or thing is the atmosphere or feeling that it expresses.

1. If we say that
someone is not a morning person, it
could mean that they are generally in a bad mood in the morning. Do you know
someone (or are you someone) who is often in a bad mood when they wake
up?

2. When you are in a bad
mood, how long does it last for? Are you able to change your "frame of mind" easily or does it
usually affect your whole day?

3. Do you think
"Seu Lunga" is always sarcastic because he's in a bad
mood... or do you think he is sarcastic no matter what mood
he's in?

4. When someone is
unusually or unexpectedly happy, you could say to them, "Wow, you're in a good mood today!" Are people pleasantly surprised when you
are in a good mood?

5. What situations or
circumstances put you into a bad mood? When someone insults you?
When it's a rainy day? When you're hungry or tired?

6. If someone is very temperamental and their emotions go up
and down, you could say that person is "moody". Do you
"wear your heart on your sleeve"?
In other words do you let your emotions show easily?

Friday, May 9, 2014

If you “stand up to” someone, you are defending
yourself. If you “stand up for” something you are claiming your right or
demanding fair treatment. To “stand up against” is to confront someone
in defense of.

2.It’s good to stand up for your rights, but we all
need to “pick our fights”. It’s just
not beneficial standing up for
some rights we think we have, because
sometimes they are really insignificant or unimportant and it’s not worth the
conflict. Have you ever stood up for
your rights by getting involved in a demonstration or protest?

3.Sometimes it is good to stand up to a “bully”… and sometimes there are disastrous
consequences, especially in the case of a smaller or weaker country standing up
to a bigger country. Some people portray the USA as a bully. Do you think this
is really the case?

4. Mahatma
Gandhi was a fascinating character. The way in which he stood up against discrimination in South Africa and in India
using passive resistance and non-violence, makes him stand out as one of the most important examples of resolving
conflict peacefully.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

If you outrun someone, you run
faster than them. If you outplay your opponent, you play better than them.
If you outfish someone, you catch more/ bigger fish.

1.By far, my favorite TV series is a reality show
called “Survivor”. About 20 contestants are castaway on an island or isolated somewhere in the wilderness. The contestants are
split into tribes and have to survive the elements, construct shelter, build
fire, look for water, and scrounge
for food and other necessities for the entire filming period which is around 39
days. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the
contestants to vote off other tribe members until only one final contestant
remains and wins the title of “Sole
Survivor” and a million dollar cash prize. The slogan for the series is: “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.”
To become the Sole Survivor, one contestant has to be smarter, play better
and last longer than everyone else.

2.Children grow so quickly that they outgrow their clothes on a regular
basis. Also you can outgrow
something as you get older and more mature or get more experience. Have you
outgrown your job?

3.When it comes to speech recognition technology, Google
is outperforming Apple’s assistant,
“Siri”. On the other hand, however, it doesn’t actually do anything except
search. Google can tell you the height of the Golden Gate Bridge faster
than Siri, but it can’t set appointments, take dictation, or make a phone call.

4.When you do a phenomenal job with something or made
more effort than usual, people can say that you have outdone yourself. London really outdid itself with the last Olympics. It was really first
class!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Whoever - Anyone (Any person or every
person, or sometimes used to refer to a person unknown to the speaker)

Whichever - Any 'which' (Choice between a
group or set).

However - Any 'way' (In any manner or
way, regardless of how).

Basically
each one means: "It does not matter what / when / where etc."
OR "An unknown thing / time / place etc."

1. The genie said something like this to
Aladin: "I'll give you three wishes…
You can wish for whatever (anything)
you want and I will give it to you." I know it's one of those cliché
questions, but if you could have whatever (anything) you wanted, what
three things would you wish for?

2. Whatever you do, just don't touch
that red button over there! (This means that you can do anything you want with
the exception of touching the red button.) This is often used in giving advice.

3. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could just
take a nap whenever we get tired, no matter where we are?

4. Whenever I get less than six hours
of sleep I literally walk around like a zombie the whole day.

5. "There's
no place like home" is an expression which means that wherever
you go in the world, you will never find a place quite like your hometown, home
city or home country. It will always be a part of you. Do you think you could
immigrate and live in another country for the rest of your life?